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Not only are we working to keep vital community spaces open and accessible — right in your neighbourhood — we are also investing in them with grants that help agencies reimagine, expand and build.  

What are the Expanding Community Service Space Capital Grants? 

Expanding Community Service Space Capital Grants (ECSSC Grants) cover pre-development costs, small capital expenses and other often overlooked yet critical steps to get projects off the ground and through to the finish line. Funding can support consulting and feasibility studies, construction to expand or adapt community spaces to better meet the changing needs of residents, or even the furniture that makes a newly built Hub feel like home. 

Our first 13 grants — part of a 10-year, $23 million commitment — invest $2.125 million to help agencies jump-start new builds, retrofit and renovate community spaces, and bridge final funding gaps for transformational initiatives.

Collectively, these grants represent:

Take a behind-the-scenes look at what’s taking shape

Close-up of hands layered on a basketball.

At the Polycultural Immigrant & Community Services reception centre, a unique project is transforming an outdoor area into an enclosed playground, basketball court and multisport field, giving refugee children and their families a place to connect, move and thrive.

Close-up of hands sorting and packing food bank supplies.

Renovations and equipment upgrades at the Parkdale Community Food Bank’s new Hub will improve community accessibility, food storage and preparation capacity, and create a welcoming, dignified space for clients, staff and volunteers.

A senior, seen from behind, raises their hands above their head in a gesture, with others in the background doing the same.

In partnership with Universal Care, CHATS is breathing new life into a local historic building site and transforming it into Vaughan’s first not-for-profit respite centre, where people living with dementia can receive 24/7 short-term care in a warm environment.

Explore other projects

Down the street or around the corner, they’re in your community, transforming it for the better. For everyone.

See the projects

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